This past weekend, I acted in and produced a short film for the Seattle 48 Hour Horror Fest. Well, co-produced with my partner in crime and superstar wife, Angela DiMarco. This was our first time as solo producers for Mighty Tripod Productions, and I think we helped make a fantastic film. The film screens tomorrow – get your tickets here.
The genre we pulled was Psychological. Yes, pulled. Under the heading of HORROR, the festival then broke the genre down into sub-genres, which were then placed into a hat for competitors to draw from. The draw happened at about 6pm on Friday November the 8th. First job for me, find out what the heck “PSYCHOLOGICAL” meant as far as creating a film! “What are the major tenets of a psychological film?”, I asked myself. Well, friends, that’s why god created the Internet, and after a bit of research and discussion, Angela got to screenwriting with John Portanova and Jeremy Berg (of The October People) about an hour after we pulled our genre from the hat! By about midnight, the script was locked and sent out to our actors, and key crew members.
The following morning (Saturday) we met at 7AM to begin shooting. It was early, but we had coffee and donuts and our spirits were light, even though the subject was heavy.
David S. Hogan takes direction as Chris Taylor (Director of Photography) gets everything framed up and beautiful.
By 830PM, we were moving to our second location.
Jeremy Berg (Director) and John Portanova (1st AD) get ready to work with actors Angela DiMarco and Lisa Coronado
For the rest of the shoot, we were at one location, which is always nice. We got a lot done before lunch, which was at noon, and by 1245PM, we were back to work and right on schedule. By 6PM, we were wrapped! A few of us stayed behind to enjoy the dinner meal prepared by our craft services mistress, Amy Goetz, and to restore the home to order after our work.
I should also mention that during the shoot, data cards containing the footage filmed and audio captured were being shuttled from White Center to Capitol Hill, where our editor, Kris Boustedt, patiently waited. So, by about 4AM, we had a rough cut. That cut got a few notes from our team, and on Sunday morning we only had one pick up shot to capture, which took only 15 minutes to complete!
On Sunday at 6PM, the final product had to be dropped off at the Seattle Film Institute, and Angela DiMarco arrived right on time (probably a bit early, actually!).
Taking part in this festival was an absolute joy, our team was stellar, and I cannot wait to see the film on the big screen then begin submitting to festivals and sharing with you. I hope you can join us for the premiere on November 12, 2013.
TREMENDOUS THANKS TO OUR TEAM:
Producers – Angela DiMarco and David S. Hogan
Director – Jeremy Berg
1st AD – John Portanova
Writers – Jeremy Berg, John Portanova, and Angela DiMarco
Director of Photography – Chris Taylor
Associate Producer – Jaime Roberts
Production Manager – MJ Sieber
Editor – Kris Boustedt
1st AC – Nocky Dinh
Sound Capture – Mitch Shepherd
Key Grip – Cody Lewis
Grip – Ben Shahabi
Gaffer – Charles McDowell
FX Makeup – Jana Hutchison
Composer – Ed Hartman (BMI)
Craft Services – Amy Goetz
Actors – Angela DiMarco, Lisa Coronado, David S. Hogan, Wonder Russell, and Rick Walters.